1. Field of the Disclosed Embodiments
The disclosed embodiments relate to systems and methods for converting radio communication signals between Digital Fixed Station Interface (DFSI) Internet Protocol (IP) standard communications and binary serial data protocol standard communications.
2. Related Art
There is a large installed base of early generation Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) P25 standard digital radio base station equipment that transfers data using binary serial data connections for creating land mobile radio networks. Binary-based serial data protocols are generalized terms by which to describe conventional schemes that capture voice and other data as data streams of 1's and 0's transmitted from, or received by, a radio in a sequence. The binary-based serial data protocols are most often implemented by a particular radio interface associated with the communicating radio by which the binary serial data is transmitted and/or received. The radio interface may format, process, package, or otherwise manipulate the binary serial data to ensure that the data to be transmitted is sent in a particular order, and that the received data is managed to be presented to a particular user in a user-friendly form. Such an interface is required because streams of 1's and 0's, while providing a convenient and simple information data stream, are not human readable. The binary serial data bit streams must be interpreted by some type of computer interface in order to be translated to a user-readable form. Processing of the binary serial data bit streams may include formatting and packaging the bit streams in a manner that allows for them to be transmitted in specific order with certain header information, for example, appended to the bit streams in order to provide, for example, identifying information for particular transmission in cooperation with a binary serial data link.
Among the earlier and more standardized of the binary serial data protocols was the V.24 standard protocol. The V.24 standard was formulated, and still exists today, as an International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) standard for the interchange of binary serial data between two devices, e.g., the connection of a computer with a telephone modem. V.24 is commonly used interchangeably with, and considered to be essentially the same as, the more commonly used and understood RS-232 standard. When used in APCO P25 systems, the particular instantiation of the V.24 standard is considered to be largely proprietary to Motorola®.
Project 25 or P25 represents a suite of standards for digital radio communications for use primarily by federal, state/province and local public safety agencies in North America. In a P25 system, voice is converted to digital format at a user radio and transmitted over the air as 1's and 0's. In early generation Motorola® P25 base stations, the V.24 serial digital protocol was used to provide digital backhaul of P25 voice and data to fixed endpoints such as dispatch consoles. The P25 standard enables agencies and entities to communicate among themselves, with other agencies and entities, and with certain disaster/mutual aid response teams in emergencies. P25 is generally understood to provide the standard for the design and manufacture of interoperable digital two-way wireless communication products directed at supporting unique communications requirements for public safety, security, public service, and commercial communication applications.